Stencil panel removing apparatus



Jan. 28, 1947, H. P. ELLIOTT STENCIL PANEL REMOVING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed April 29, 1944 Wm N III Jan. 28, 1947. H. P. ELLIOTT l 2,414,937

STENCIL ANEL REMOVING APPARATUS Filed April 29, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 JOHN DOE Co l i l :so MAIN STREET. Z6 25 v l l3c sT N,M/\ss..

w n 2/v I 30 Y zf/gg/ l ITLUe/Iorf. 2/ 2a 25 I T F3195' mw Patented Jan. 28, 1947 IUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE STENCIL PANEL REMOVING APPARATUS Harmon P. Elliott, Watertown, Mass. Application April 29, 1944, `Serial No. y533,425

Claims.

This invention relates to mechanism for removing the tissue panel from printing machine stencils. More particularly it provides for conditioning used stencil frames for reception of new tissue panels, as when the printed matter on the panel of a stencil has become obsolete and it is desired to bring the stencil up to date without providing a completely new stencil.

YStencils of the variety customarily employed in printing machines, and more especially in addressing machines, comprise a relatively still frame of paper stock usually made of two or more rectangular frame sections superimposed on opposite sides of a welt element which latter element has the tissue panel adhered thereto. The frame has a central cut out, and the Welt has a slightly smaller cut out which provides a Window over which the tissue panel extends, the panel being adhered to the welt along the inner marginal portions of the welt which extend inward beyond the frame.

Very frequently such stencils have portions adapted to have various data or entries inserted thereon. For example, the stencil panel may have printed thereon the name and address of a store customer, and various information pertinent to the customers account may be recorded on the stencil, usually on a suitable extension of the stencil frame, provided for the purpose.

It naturally happens that the address on a stencil may have to be changed, if and when a customer moves from one address to another, and the number of such needed changes is considerable for a store or other establishment having accounts running into the thousands. Hence, it becomes important to be able to change an address on a stencil and preserve the associated customer record rather than to provide a completely new stencil and have to transfer the record from the old to the new, with the labor and costs involved, to effect the transfer, in addition to the cost of a new stencil.

It is an object of ymy present invention tc provide a machine having provision for removing stencil panels as an entirety, so that no fragments remain on the welt element to interfere with a smooth substitution of a new panel. Means is provided for loosening the securement of the panel to the Welt element and for then displac-v ing the panel relative to the frame to a position where it may be removed by the machine operator or attendant.

Another Objectis to provide means for holding a number of Astencils whose panels are to be removed, and for feeding them in succession to a panel loosening station and thence to a panel displacing station. I provide a magazine for holding a vertical stack of the stencils .above a stencil track, and means for feeding each lowermost stencil of the stack from the magazine along the stencil track to the panel loosening station, and the feed-of a next succeeding stencil advances the preceding stencil from the panel loosening station to the panel displacing station and thence to a location where the panel-less stencil frames are collected.

Still another object is to provide heating means at the panel loosening station designed to soften the adhesive by which the panel of a stencil at said station is secured to the stencil welt.

A further object is to provide resilient means at the vpanel displacing station adapted to yield to permit passage of a stencil frame and to then engage the panel of the stencil with a paneldisplacing pressure.

Yet another object is to provide means whereby the magazine, stencil track and stencil feeding means may be moved as a unit to uncover the heating means at the panel loosening station.

It is, moreover, my purpose and general object to provide simple and effective mechanism for removing tissue panels from printing machine stencils.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan View of a machine embodying features of my present invention;

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the machine of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view on line 3-3 of Figure 1, the lower portion of the machine being broken away;

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view on line 4-4 of Figure 1, on a larger scale;

Figure 5 is a lfront elevation of an addressing machine stencil, with portions broken away to show its construction; and

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view on line 6-6 of Figure 5, on a larger scale.

Referring to the drawings, a base plate lil which may be of any suitable size and shape has a series of posts 1g, I4 rising therefrom for supporting, at their upperends, a pair of parallel track rails IB, I8 suitably spaced apart for aecommodating a particular size of stencil 2t. As represented, the base plate I Il has rectangular shape and is equipped on its under side at each corner with a pad 22 of rubber or other cushioning material for maintaining the plate out of marring contact with a table or other support upon which the machine may be placed.

Posts l2, I4 may be secured at their lower ends to plate I!! in any well known manner, as by the screws 23. The track rails I6, i8 merely rest on the upper ends of the posts in a manner and for a purpose that will later appear.

A stencil of the type which may be handled in my present machine is represented in detail in Figs. and 6. It comprises a relatively sti frame composite of the two similar stiff sections 2|, 2|, which may be of suitable paper stock, arranged on opposite sides of a relatively tough and stiff welt sheet 24. The frame sections 2|, 2| have the generally rectangular cut-out 26, and the welt sheet 24 has the smaller cut-out 28 over which the tissue panel 30 is secured by having its marginal portion adhered to the portion 25 of the Welt sheet which projects inward beyond the frame sections. The frame sections 2|, 2| preferably are secured to the welt sheet 24 by a glue or other adhesive which is not readily softened by heat, while the tissue panel 30 preferably is adhered to the welt strip by shellac or other adhesive which softens readily in the presence of heat.

The stencil as represented has a substantial area a above the tissue panel for reception of data pertinent to the account of a customer whose name and address is printed on the tissue panel 30.

A stack of such stencils whose tissue panels 3! are to be removed may be held in a magazine 32, 32 at a mid-location along tracks I5, I8. The magazine is shown mounted on the track bars I6, I8 above and bridging the space between the tracks, which latter extend a substantial distance beyond the magazine in each longitudinal direction. The magazine consists of two separated sections 32, 32 which serve to maintain the rails I6, |8 in their predetermined spaced parallel relation.

The track bars I6, I8 are grooved as at I1, I9 along their inner edges for receiving opposite marginal edge portions of a stencil. However, the portion of each track which is under the magazine 32 has the upper wall of its groove cut away so that the lowermost stencil in the magazine rests on the lower walls of the track grooves as at 34 (Fig. 3) in position to be moved along the tracks from the magazine to stations at which the track grooves are intact for guiding and retaining the stencil during its progress along the tracks.

In the machine herein represented, the stencils move to the left, in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, from the magazine 32, first to a panel loosening station immediately to the left of the magazine and then to a panel displacing station further along the tracks I6, IB to the left, whence the stencil frame, after its tissue panel is lifted away, is moved off the left hand end of the tracks where the frames are collected in any desired manner, as by accumulating in a stack 36 on the extreme left end portion of the base plate I0, preferably aided by the vertical defiecting plate 38.

According to the invention, a heating unit 40 is located directly below the stencil loosening station, Any suitable heater may be employed although, for convenience, I prefer to use an electric heater which can have the usual conducting cord 42 for connecting the unit in an electric circuit, as by plugging the cord into a wall socket or the like. A switch 44 is provided for controlling the heating unit.

As herein represented, unit 40 is xedly mounted on a platform 48 at the upper ends of sup- E2 is grasped and moved to the left.

porting posts 48 which extend upward from the face plate I0. The upper heat-transferring face of unit 48 is located immediately below the horizontal plane of the tracks I6, I8, so that the stencils moving along the tracks can move to and from the panel loosening station without catching on unit 4U, yet the heat transferring surface of the unit stands sufficiently close to a stencil at the panel loosening station so that heat from the unit can act effectively on the stencil to. soften the adhesive which holds panel 3|! on the welt sheet 24.

The heating unit i0 is positioned below the Vspace intervening between tracks IG, lll, where it can be in heat transferring relation to the tissue panel region of the stencil. In the illustrated embodiment, heater El is closer to the forward track I8 than it is to rear track I6 because the particular variety and size of stencil represented has its panel 30 closer to the bottom edge of the frame than it is to the top edge, thereby to provide an upper area 26a of frame surface which can have Various data recorded thereon, and against which a spring arm 5) may resiliently bear at the panel loosening station to maintain the stencil pressed downward into heat receiving relation to heater 40, Preferably the upper face of unit 40 is slightly dished as at 4I (Fig. 4) so that a marginal portion extending all around the unit is elevated with respect to the main area of top face of the unit. Also suitable vent passages 52 extend through said top face of the unit.

Means is provided for displacing a loosened panel from its stencil frame as a stencil moves from the panel loosening station at the heater to the panel displacing station to the left of the heater. A spring arm 54 accomplishes this function. It may be secured at one end to the heater platform as at 56 and extends upwardly with inclination to the left so that its upper curved end portion 55 normally projects above the horizontal plane of the tracks I6, i8 at a location alongthe tracks where a stencil will come to rest when pushed to the, left by a next succeeding stencil moving to the panel loosening station, However, spring arm 54 is resiliently yieldable downwardly and is cammed downwardly by the leading side of a stencil frame moving from the panel loosening station. As the stencil moves further to the left the spring arm 54 rides off the relatively stiff leading side of the stencil frame and onto the tissue panel 39 which will have been loosened to permit arm 54 to displace the panel upwardly away from the frame by its own resilience. The operator then can lift away the panel 38 and the frame proceeds, on the next advance of stencils, to the collecting stack 36.

Movement of the stencils out of magazine 32 and along the tracks I6, I8 may be accomplished by a pusher mechanism indicated generally at 58, at the right hand end of the machine. It comprises a plate Sil having forward and rear side edges slidably engaged in the edge grooves Il, I9 of track bars I 6, I8 and a handle 62 for manually moving the pusher plate 6|) toward and from magazine-32. At its left hand or leading end, plate 60 has the projections B4, 64 normally engaging under the lowermost stencil in magazine 32, and a shoulder 66 normally stands adjacent the right hand edge of the lowermost stencil, in position to engage and push the stencil to the left along the track rails I6, I8 when handle Such a movement of handle 62 is limited by the adjustable stop pin 68 which is screw-threaded into the bracket 4'it in which handle 62 is mounted on pusher plate jthe end of pin .68 being set to engage the side wall of magazine 32 when the plate Se has moved to the left a distance where.- by the pushed stencil 2e will be directly over the heater di) at the panel loosening station. Longitudinal ribs l2, lll on the upper face of pusher plate G have the bevelled ends 'I5 toward magazine 32, so that as the pusher plate moves to the left to push the lowermost stencil of the stack along track rails l5, i8, the plate ribs 12, 14 engage under the remainder of the stack of stencils to hold the stack out of frictional contact with the stencil that is being pushed. As the pusher is moved back to its position of Figs. l and 2, the stack drops down so that the lowermost stencil rests on tracks I6, IS in. position to `be pushed on the next movement of the pusher to the left.

Preferably the track rails I5, IB, magazine 32 and pusher 5t are movable as a unit to uncover the heating unit lli) when it is desired to get access thereto. For this purpose the track rail it is hingedly connected to posts l2 as atlii so that the unit of track rails, magazine and pusher may be swung away from heater 4t as indicated by the dotted showing of Fig. 3. The pusher handle 62 serves for this movement oi the unit as well as for moving the pusher plate 60 as previously described.

In operation, successive lowermost stencils in the stack Within magazine 32 are pushed in succession to the panel loosening position over heater i lili where the adhesive holding the panel 3D on the Welt sheet 24 becomes softened by heat from the heater. As the next stencil is pushed from magazine 32 to the panel loosening station, it pushes the preceding stencil to the panel displacing station where spring arm 54 displaces the'panel from its frame so that the operator may lift the panel from the machine. rIlhen on the next advance of stencils, the panel-less frame is deposited in stack d at the left hand end of base plate lo in readiness to have a fresh panel applied and on which a name with corrected address may be provided in the usual manner.

I claim as my invention:

l. A machine for removing adhered panels from stencil frames, comprising a stencil track, means for holding stencils in feeding relation to said track, heating means at alocation along the track and closely adjacent to the path of a stencil moving along the track, means for moving a stencil along the track from said holding means to the location of said heating means whereby heat from the heater can soften the" adhesive by which the panel is secured to the stencil frame, means beyond said heating means in one direction along the track projecting yieldably into the path of a stencil moving along the track from said heating means and adapted to be depressed by the leading portion of a stencil frame and to resiliently press the panel as the stencil proceeds along the track thereby to displace the loosened panel from the frame.

2. A machine for removing adhered panels from,

stencil frames, comprising a stencil track, means for holding a stack of stencils With the lowermost stencil resting on said track, a heater below the track having a surface in heat transferring relation to a stencil when located along the track directly over the heater, whereby heat from. the heater can soften the adhesive by which the panel is secured to the stencil frame, means beyond the heater for displacing the panel from the frame after the adhesive has been softened, and means A6 for moving successive lower'most stencils from said stack along the track to said heater and then away from said heater.

3. Mechanism for removing a panel from a stencil frame to which the panel is secured by adhesive, ,comprising panel heating means, panel displacing means acting generally perpendicular to the plane of the panel, and means for movingfa stencil to bring its panel into heat receiv-` ing relation to said panel heating means and thence into panel displacing relation to said panel displacing means.

4. A machine for removing adhered panels from stencil frames, comprising heating means, means for holding stencils adjacent to said heating means, a track extending from said stencil holding means to and beyond said heating means, pusher mechanism for intermittently advancing a succession of stencils along said track from said stencil holding means to and beyond said heating means, and panel displacing means operative beyond the heating means for spreading a panel away from its frame as each of the succession of stencils advances beyond the heating means.

5. A machine for removing adhered panels from stencil frames, comprising a heater having an upperrheat transferring surface, means for holding a stack of stencils, a track extending from `the said stack directly over and beyond said heater, means for moving the successive lowermost stencils in the stack in succession along the track to a position in heat receiving relation to the heater whereby to soften the adhesive securing the panel, and thence to a position along the track beyond said heater, and means at said position beyond the heater for spreading the panel away from its frame as each stencil advances from its heat receiving position to said position beyond.

6. A machine for removing adhered panels from stencil frames, comprising a heater having a heat transferring surface, a pair of parallel bars extending in a horizontal plane slightly spaced from the horizontal plane of said heat transferring surface of the heater and together constituting a stencil tracky a magazine for holding a stack of stencils with the lowermost stencil resting on said track, means for intermittently moving successive lowermost stencils of the stack in succession along thetrack to and beyond a position in heat receiving relation to said heat transferring surface of the heater, at which position the adhesive securing its panel is softened, and resilient means operative on the panel of each stencil moving beyond said position for displacing the panel from its frame.

'7. A machine for removing adhered panels from stencil frames, comprising means for holding a stack of stencils, a track on which the lowermost stencilof the stack rests, the track extending a substantial distance to each side of the stack, means movable on the track at one side of the stack and operable to push successive lowermost stencilsof the stack along the track to and beyond a position at the other side of the stack, heating means in heat transferring relation to a stencil in said position for softening the adhesive by which the panel is secured to its frame, and a resilient member yieldable to permit passage of the leading side of a stencil frame in its movement beyond said position and operative by resilience to displace the panel from its frame when said resilient member rides off 7 said leading side of the stencil frame and engages said panel.

8. In a machine having means for intermittently moving a succession of stencils along a track, the combination therewith of means, at one location along the track, for softening a substance by which one section of a stencil is secured to another section thereof, and means at another location along the track, for resiliently spreading apart relatively the initially secured together sections of the stencil.

9. A machine for removing adhered panels from stencil frames, comprising a track, a heater at a stencil heating station along the track, resilient stencil engaging means at a panel displacing station along the tracks, means for holding a supply of stencils in feeding relation to said track, means for intermittently moving stencils in succession from said holding means to said stencil heating station and thence to said panel displacing station, and means providing for re1- ative swinging movement of said track, holding means and moving means as a unit away from said heater and said panel displacing means.

10. In a machine for removing adhered panels lfrom stencil frames, a base for resting on a support, a pair of parallel rails spaced above said base, posts rising from said base and supporting said rails, a magazine mounted on said rails for holding a stack of stencils, a pusher manually movable on said rails at one side of the magazine for moving successive lowermost stencils of the stack in succession along the track to a heating station and thence to a panel displacing station, a heater under the track at said heating station, for softening the adhesive by Which a stencil panel is secured to its frame, a spring arm at said panel displacing station resiliently operable for displacing the stencil panels from their frames in direction generally perpendicular to the frames as each stencil moves from the heating station to the panel displacing station, and means beyond the panel displacing station for collecting the panel-less stencil frames.

HARMON P. ELLIOTT. 

